Spirit AeroSystems Inc. in Wichita continues to bolster two aspects of its business and has launched new internal divisions to help it achieve anticipated combined growth of $2 billion in the coming years.

In a press release recapping the growth strategy Spirit (NYSE: SPR) shared late last month at its investor day event, Wichita’s largest employer identified its fabrication and defense operations as $1 billion businesses in their own right in the next five years.

On the fabrication side, where Spirit already internally builds more than 38,000 unique parts to support its aeorstructures manufacturing, the company has recently developed centers of excellence in Wichita for five-axis complex parts and chemical processing.

That is in addition to the three- and four-axis center of excellence it established at its facility in McAlester, Oklahoma.

With continued insourcing of more parts, as well as offering those fabrication services to other suppliers and leveraging it to expand work with existing customers, company CEO Tom Gentile said the division will provide solid growth opportunities for the company, which last year reported revenue of $6.8 billion.

“There is a huge market for these detailed parts, delivering them directly to original equipment manufacturers," Gentile said. "Fabrication is a good margin business where Spirit has unmatched capability and capacity for both commercial and defense customers."

On the defense side, Spirit is projecting that growing portfolio will also become a $1 billion annual business in the next five years and will account for 10 to 15 percent of its total revenue.

In addition to its work as a supplier to Northrop Grumman on the B-21 Raider bomber program, Spirit is also supporting the the Boeing Co.'s KC-46A tanker and P-8A anti-submarine aircraft that are each based off Boeing commercial models. Spirit is Boeing's (NYSE: BA) largest individual supplier and has work on all of the company's commercial programs.

But its defense portfolio isn't limited to fixed-wing aircraft.

The company is also supporting the Lockheed/Sikorsky CH-53 helicopter and the Bell Helicopter V-280 Valor, rotorcraft programs that have also helped provide growth in a defense segment where company leadership has been bullish that it can increase its market share.

"Spirit Defense has a very strong value proposition for defense contractors," Gentile said. "Our costs are lower, we have commercial best practices we can apply and we have design-build capabilities that many of our competitors do not have."

In relation to both fabrication and defense, the company also said it has launched new divisions to facilitate the expected growth.

Kevin Matthies has been named senior vice president of the new global fabrication division. He will report to Ron Rabe, senior vice president of fabrication and supply chain.

It has also appointed Krisstie Kondrotis to the position of senior vice president of defense programs and business development. She will report to Duane Hawkins, senior vice president and general manager of Boeing, defense and business and regional jet programs, as well as global customer support.